2 Questions: supplies and bird fairs

[cindy]

Stuart we can have birds brought in (through Florida) from Puerto Rico with out going through quarantine stations... some of these birds are release outside and feed well to keep them around, when they need to fill an order they are netted and shipped off... some of these birds can be exposed to wild birds, illness, pathogens.. quarantine and preventatives are suggested.. better to do so in quarantine than expose them to your flock and have losses or have to treat everyone.

[artgecko]

Thank you everyone for the great advice! I'm going to have to read it all again to remember everything lol.

Cindy- I am planning on going to the Forrest Park show. I tried to post a link in my first post to their vendor list, but I'm not sure if it worked (the menu system on this forum is different than other forums I've been on for posting a link). If you do have any advice on who to buy from and who not to, that would be great. I do greatly prefer to buy from breeders directly and not from "flippers" as we call them in the reptile community.

I found out a few days ago that Laraine McGinnis is near me..about 45-50 minutes away. I was shocked because I've never seen any quality breeders (of any species) in this area. I was already planning on putting in an order for some of her sprouting seed mix, herb salad, and some medications. So far, What I've got down to order from her is the following: herb salad, Ronex 12% powder, NV powder and probiotic. Would "worm away" or "wormout" be a better wormer to buy? Also, would Scatt or S76 be a better air sac mite treatment?

I

[cindy]

best to pm me regarding vendors.... as far as deworming products...I have tried both.... did not like the wormout gel by vetafarm, thick, orange, smells funny and very hard to mix..looks like thick orange juice..... much prefer the wormaway.

[cindy]

both s76 and scatt treat ASM, scaly mite and feather mites....

I prefer not to put mite prevention treatment in the water and use Scatt...moxidectin topically, it also acts as a dewormer except for tape

[cindy]

if you are buying from a vendor that has outdoor aviaries you will also want to treat predicatively for cocci...either Baycox or trisulfa which can be mixed safely with Ronex or coci care by morning bird.

[Stuart whiting]

Stuart we can have birds brought in (through Florida) from Puerto Rico with out going through quarantine stations... some of these birds are release outside and feed well to keep them around, when they need to fill an order they are netted and shipped off... some of these birds can be exposed to wild birds, illness, pathogens.. quarantine and preventatives are suggested.. better to do so in quarantine than expose them to your flock and have losses or have to treat everyone.

Yea I can go along with that cindy, I can definitely see yer point in those circumstances,
Would seem to make sence

[artgecko]

My orders from Lady gouldian and Laraine's Gouldians came in yesterday. I am so excited to start setting things up. I still lack some extra feeders / drinkers and perches, but am hoping that I can pick all that up at the show Saturday. The medications as well as the nv powder came in too, so I will be able to treat any new birds I bought while in quarantine. I purchased a small about (5lbs) of both of Laraine's seed mixes, but I will also look for canary-specific seed mixes while at the show.

A question on treating them in quarantine... Should I put the scatt on them immediately before putting them in their quarantine setup? and also, should I put the nv powder in their regular drinking water or use a separate dish?

One final question and I will stop bugging you guys... Since these are my first birds and I'm planning on them to live together, should I quarantine them in separate cages or in a single cage? Their transport cages will be very near each other, so I am not sure if they would have already "contaminated" each other via that.

Thank you again for your time and help!

[Sally]

You should be able to pick up the rest of your supplies at the fair. I checked the list of vendors, and it looks like they have a good assortment. I Scatt new birds before I put them in their quarantine cages, it is just easier to get it over with rather than having to catch them up later, especially since I don't do a lot more to them anyway. With the NV powder, I put it in both my tube waterers and in the small dish of water that I place in the cage, so they will be sure and get some of it. I've never had a bird not drink water that had the NV powder in it. Also, when I purchase birds that I know are used to tube waterers already, I don't bother with the small dish of water. You can always ask the vendor when you purchase birds if their birds are used to tube waterers.

Some will advise quarantining them in separate cages. I personally have put birds from different vendors together in one cage, depending on the species and on the vendor. When I first started, I didn't know anything about quarantine, so none of my first birds were quarantined at all (not recommended, of course). Since these are your first birds, I'm assuming you have a cage or cages already, and those can be used as their quarantine cage(s) right off the bat. It's always good to have one separate smaller cage on hand to use as a hospital and/or future quarantine cage anyway.

[artgecko]

I was planning on asking the sellers about what kind of waterer they are used to (and also if they are housed outside, what their quarantine is like, and what medications they have used on them). I will probably still give a dish of water just in case.

Being able to house them together in their final setup will make things a lot easier I think. I will plan on treating with the scatt immediately and putting nv powder in their water... I also have the liquid wormer to use, but I am assuming they should have the nv powder for a few days after coming home before I treat with that. Is that correct?

Thank you again for your time / help!

[cindy]

I Scatt right as I am bringing them out of the travel cage... keep in mind it can take a day or two to get fully through the system...some use a spray of AIL (Avian Insect Liquidator...down the back, under each wing done before Scatting... if the bird is carrying Feather mites it sort of nips it early on, then the next day Scatt.... all depends who you buy from... some of the vendors at the shows I am a vendor at take in birds from all over sometimes right at the show, trade with other brokers that also got their birds from other breeders.... keep them separate, treat them with preventatives in quarantine.... Not all brokers are on the up and up so just use caution when purchasing birds. I have even seen them remove bands the breeder put on them.

This is the quarantine I follow... lengthy but to me it is worth it.... I add one more treatment of scatt.... http://www.gouldiansgalore.com/quaranti ... ocols.html

[artgecko]

Thank you! The only medication I forgot to order was the coccidia treatment.. I will have to order that and treat them once it comes in.